Football: Lambert upbeat on Benteke injury

Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert played down the gravity of an injury that forced key striker Christian Benteke off during his side's 1-0 win at Norwich City on Saturday.

Benteke hobbled off in the 28th minute after appearing to injure his hip, with new Czech signing Libor Kozak scoring the game's only goal within two minutes of coming on to take the Belgian's place.

Villa's top scorer last season with 19 league goals, Benteke collapsed as he attempted to come back onto the pitch after the initial injury, but he was smiling when he re-appeared in the dug-out during the second half.

"I think he's not too bad," Lambert told BT Sport after the game.

"I think he actually slipped, that was the initial injury. We'll see how he is, but I'm delighted for Libor to score his first goal. That's why we bought him, in case Christian got an injury."

It was Villa's first win since their 3-1 success at Arsenal on the Premier League season's opening day and ended a run of three consecutive defeats.